My name is Tonya, and this is a story about a teacher’s pet named Gabriella.
“That Gabriella gets on my nerves," said Jennifer. "She plays up to Mrs. Castillo every chance she gets.”
Alice said, “Yeah, she is always doing whatever she can to help Mrs. Castillo. If Mrs. Castillo asks for a volunteer or someone to run an errand for her to the office, Gabriella is the first one with her hand up.”
Jennifer said, “Gabriella is a teacher’s pet. She acts like she is obsessed with Mrs. Castillo.”
As we all took our seats in class, Mrs. Castillo announced, “All right, class. Please take your seats so we can begin our morning math warm-up.” After the problems were written on the chalkboard, Mrs. Castillo asked, “Who is ready to come to the board to help me solve the first problem?”
Of course, Gabriella's hand shot up into the air. Gabriella got the answer correct and received a smile of approval from Mrs. Castillo, which Gabriella just basked in.
When class was over, it was time for lunch. I sat with Jennifer and Alice. We have known each other since kindergarten. We saw Gabriella sit down with Mrs. Castillo. Gabriella was always bragging how she got to eat lunch twice a week with Mrs. Castillo. None of us cared because we liked eating lunch together. But to Gabriella this was a special time to be able to spend time with her favorite teacher, Mrs. Castillo. No one truly understood why she wanted to spend so much time with Mrs. Castillo.
Gabriella was new to our school; this was her first year. She probably would have made more friends if she weren't so smart and didn't want the whole world to know it. That's what got on our nerves.
Alice and Jennifer really had it in for Gabriella. They wouldn’t even talk to her outside of class nor would they ever invite her to eat lunch at “our” table. When they saw her sit down with Mrs. Castillo, they snorted, "Teacher's pet!"
Kenneth, who was Gabriella's only student friend, told them to be quiet and to back off of Gabriella. He said, “Alice, why do you and Jennifer always bother Gabriella in math class? I think you are just jealous because she is one of the smartest students.”
Alice responded, “No, you are wrong, Kenneth. We are not jealous of someone like Gabriella.”
Kenneth said, “What do you mean—someone like Gabriella?”
“She just means that Gabriella has nothing for us to be jealous of,” chimed in Jennifer.
"That's even worse," said Kenneth. "You talk about her like she's just nothing."
Good thing he didn't hear Alice whisper, "She is just nothing. Nothing but a teacher's pet."
The next morning, before Mrs. Castillo came into class, Gabriella was bragging about being ready for the up-and-coming test and how she was going to make Mrs. Castillo proud of her.
Alice burst out, “What a teacher’s pet you are. You're always bragging about you and Mrs. Castillo. I don’t understand why you are so obsessed with Mrs. Castillo. Frankly, it is creepy.”
Gabriella responded while holding back tears, “I just love Mrs. Castillo. She is so nice and kind.” She bit her lip and then ran out of the classroom in tears.
Kenneth said, "Alice, you are so stupid. Didn't you know that Gabriella's mother was killed in a car accident when a drunk driver hit her head-on, just before she moved here? The reason Gabriella spends so much time with Mrs. Castillo is because she reminds Gabriella of her mother. Gabriella’s mother had long dark hair, wore glasses, and had a big smile—just like Mrs. Castillo. And Mrs. Castillo has tried to be a little bit of a mother to Gabriella."
Alice and Jennifer felt terrible now, and everyone was looking at them—and at me—as if we were monsters.
"Hey," I said. "Don't look at me. I don't say anything bad about Gabriella."
"You don't stop them either," said Marcia, one of the girls in the class.
When she found out how mean Alice and Jennifer had been about Gabriella, Mrs. Castillo was furious. She told Alice and Jennifer she wanted to speak to both of them after class. Mrs. Castillo stared at me for a long time, and then she decided to let me go. I breathed a sigh of relief, but I knew Marcia was right. I hadn't done enough to stop them in their tormenting of Gabriella.
Mrs. Castillo told Alice and Jennifer, “You shouldn’t talk about people badly and mistreat them when you don’t know their backgrounds or what has happened in their lives.”
Alice responded, “Mrs. Castillo, I am so sorry. I didn’t know Gabriella lost her mother. I can’t even imagine not having my mom around.”
Mrs. Castillo told the girls, “You owe Gabriella an apology. And a lot more kindness!”
Alice and Jennifer apologized to Gabriella. Alice gave Gabriella a hug and invited her to start spending time with her and her family on weekends.
Actually, the whole thing made Gabriella feel better. She had the beginning of a new friendship with the very girls who had given her such grief in the past. And Alice and Jennifer found out in the end that Gabriella was a nice girl.
Mrs. Castillo didn't need to tell me to apologize to Gabriella or make friends with her. I was more than ready to.
Questions for Reflection
What do you believe is the definition of a “Teacher’s Pet?”
Have you ever been considered a “Teacher’s Pet?”
Why was Gabriella so drawn to Mrs. Castillo?
Was it right for the other girls to judge Gabriella so harshly?
Can you imagine that maybe people you make fun of or dislike have some secret pain in their lives?
Exercise
Think of a person in your class or school that you consider "out" or someone you would never want to be friends with. Now think of possible reasons why that person is the way he or she is. Imagine that he or she has some situation at home like Gabriella's; perhaps it is not the death of a parent, but maybe there is some unhappiness or poverty or illness in his or her family that makes this person's life hard. What can you do to be a little kinder to this person?
“That Gabriella gets on my nerves," said Jennifer. "She plays up to Mrs. Castillo every chance she gets.”
Alice said, “Yeah, she is always doing whatever she can to help Mrs. Castillo. If Mrs. Castillo asks for a volunteer or someone to run an errand for her to the office, Gabriella is the first one with her hand up.”
Jennifer said, “Gabriella is a teacher’s pet. She acts like she is obsessed with Mrs. Castillo.”
As we all took our seats in class, Mrs. Castillo announced, “All right, class. Please take your seats so we can begin our morning math warm-up.” After the problems were written on the chalkboard, Mrs. Castillo asked, “Who is ready to come to the board to help me solve the first problem?”
Of course, Gabriella's hand shot up into the air. Gabriella got the answer correct and received a smile of approval from Mrs. Castillo, which Gabriella just basked in.
When class was over, it was time for lunch. I sat with Jennifer and Alice. We have known each other since kindergarten. We saw Gabriella sit down with Mrs. Castillo. Gabriella was always bragging how she got to eat lunch twice a week with Mrs. Castillo. None of us cared because we liked eating lunch together. But to Gabriella this was a special time to be able to spend time with her favorite teacher, Mrs. Castillo. No one truly understood why she wanted to spend so much time with Mrs. Castillo.
Gabriella was new to our school; this was her first year. She probably would have made more friends if she weren't so smart and didn't want the whole world to know it. That's what got on our nerves.
Alice and Jennifer really had it in for Gabriella. They wouldn’t even talk to her outside of class nor would they ever invite her to eat lunch at “our” table. When they saw her sit down with Mrs. Castillo, they snorted, "Teacher's pet!"
Kenneth, who was Gabriella's only student friend, told them to be quiet and to back off of Gabriella. He said, “Alice, why do you and Jennifer always bother Gabriella in math class? I think you are just jealous because she is one of the smartest students.”
Alice responded, “No, you are wrong, Kenneth. We are not jealous of someone like Gabriella.”
Kenneth said, “What do you mean—someone like Gabriella?”
“She just means that Gabriella has nothing for us to be jealous of,” chimed in Jennifer.
"That's even worse," said Kenneth. "You talk about her like she's just nothing."
Good thing he didn't hear Alice whisper, "She is just nothing. Nothing but a teacher's pet."
The next morning, before Mrs. Castillo came into class, Gabriella was bragging about being ready for the up-and-coming test and how she was going to make Mrs. Castillo proud of her.
Alice burst out, “What a teacher’s pet you are. You're always bragging about you and Mrs. Castillo. I don’t understand why you are so obsessed with Mrs. Castillo. Frankly, it is creepy.”
Gabriella responded while holding back tears, “I just love Mrs. Castillo. She is so nice and kind.” She bit her lip and then ran out of the classroom in tears.
Kenneth said, "Alice, you are so stupid. Didn't you know that Gabriella's mother was killed in a car accident when a drunk driver hit her head-on, just before she moved here? The reason Gabriella spends so much time with Mrs. Castillo is because she reminds Gabriella of her mother. Gabriella’s mother had long dark hair, wore glasses, and had a big smile—just like Mrs. Castillo. And Mrs. Castillo has tried to be a little bit of a mother to Gabriella."
Alice and Jennifer felt terrible now, and everyone was looking at them—and at me—as if we were monsters.
"Hey," I said. "Don't look at me. I don't say anything bad about Gabriella."
"You don't stop them either," said Marcia, one of the girls in the class.
When she found out how mean Alice and Jennifer had been about Gabriella, Mrs. Castillo was furious. She told Alice and Jennifer she wanted to speak to both of them after class. Mrs. Castillo stared at me for a long time, and then she decided to let me go. I breathed a sigh of relief, but I knew Marcia was right. I hadn't done enough to stop them in their tormenting of Gabriella.
Mrs. Castillo told Alice and Jennifer, “You shouldn’t talk about people badly and mistreat them when you don’t know their backgrounds or what has happened in their lives.”
Alice responded, “Mrs. Castillo, I am so sorry. I didn’t know Gabriella lost her mother. I can’t even imagine not having my mom around.”
Mrs. Castillo told the girls, “You owe Gabriella an apology. And a lot more kindness!”
Alice and Jennifer apologized to Gabriella. Alice gave Gabriella a hug and invited her to start spending time with her and her family on weekends.
Actually, the whole thing made Gabriella feel better. She had the beginning of a new friendship with the very girls who had given her such grief in the past. And Alice and Jennifer found out in the end that Gabriella was a nice girl.
Mrs. Castillo didn't need to tell me to apologize to Gabriella or make friends with her. I was more than ready to.
Questions for Reflection
Exercise
Think of a person in your class or school that you consider "out" or someone you would never want to be friends with. Now think of possible reasons why that person is the way he or she is. Imagine that he or she has some situation at home like Gabriella's; perhaps it is not the death of a parent, but maybe there is some unhappiness or poverty or illness in his or her family that makes this person's life hard. What can you do to be a little kinder to this person?